


Wonder

by Lastavica



Series: Total [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Babies, Brothers, Childhood, Clint Barton's Farm, Clint is a wonderful father, Clintasha - Freeform, Dandelions, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff, Healing, I'm actually REALLY pleased with how this turned out. :D, ICICLES, Isaac Barton, Lady bugs, Love, Married Couple, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha is a wonderful mother, Nature, One Shot Collection, Original Character(s), Peace, Seasons, Second Chances, Siblings, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Walks In The Woods, Wind Barton, cuteness, frosty breath, honeysuckle, little kids, past trauma, retired Avengers, rope swing, the healing power of nature, wonder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28363749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lastavica/pseuds/Lastavica
Summary: Five moments of childhood Natasha watches her sons experience and one she experiences herself. Thanks Clint!(Part of my "Total" universe)
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Series: Total [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077212
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	1. Frosty Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: It's October. Wind will be 2 in March. Natasha will be newly pregnant with Isaac soon after that.

The first time Wind learned that he could see his own breath on a cold day, Natasha felt like it was her first time too. Every little thing became new when she watched him discover it. Simple pleasures like that had been nothing more than background noise during the crucible of her own childhood. Growing up, training in the merciless Siberian winters, forced to sleep in unheated rooms, she'd seen her own breath thousands of times. There had been no first moment of delight in discovery, no making a game of it. The steamy breath that rose from her lungs only ever reminded her that she must endure.

Her little son, Wind, on the other hand couldn't believe his eyes and laughed and laughed when he realized he could blow smoke like a dragon. He had a few books with dragons in it and Clint was quick to make the connection for him. Father and son roared at each other puffing little clouds. Natasha wowed them both with her ability to blow both big and small rings.

It was the first frosty morning of the fall. Clint had returned to the porch with an arm load of kindling for their next fire and Wind riding on his other shoulder. Natasha, only just recovered (physically) from her first miscarraige, was snuggled under a blanket in a chair. She'd already let the chickens out and harvested some brussel sprouts to have with bacon for dinner that night. This was her first time growing them and she was having good success. There was no book in her hands that morning. She'd simply been listening to the birds and Clint's voice that carried over from the woods as he talked to their son. As she listened her only focus had been her own calm and steady breathing. She was sad and she was hurting. Fotunately the joy that surrounded her was still an unyielding comfort.

When she watched her little boy laughing at the sight of his breath in the cold October air, there was nothing in the world that could hurt her. Clint, for his part, was encouraged to see her eyes sparkling that morning. That past week had been so painful. Their son's joy in that moment was a balm for their grief.

Eventually Wind found his way under the blanket with his mom. Clint went inside to deposit the bundle of sticks in the fireplace. Natasha and her son snuggled together and laughed as they continued to watch their puffs of breath disappear into the chilly air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wanted to write a 5+1 and I've been wanting to do this one forever! And I finally am! Next chapters coming promptly. Ho! Ho! Ho! :D As tomorrow is also my day off... I'll probably finish all of it. We'll see.
> 
> * The miscarriage referenced comes from chapter 14 in Total. *


	2. Lady Bug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: May. Isaac was born in January. Wind is now 3 years old.

Clint's childhood had been a bad one, but it was still a childhood. He'd played outside. He'd explored and gotten dirty. Even while his early home life had been one of violence, clenched fists and swallowed tears, he'd still been allowed to be a kid. It was all cut short when he ran away to the circus with his brother, but it happened all the same.

Natasha loved to see him share the discoveries of boyhood with their sons. He'd learned and done things she never had. Simple things like playing with snow, or lifting a rock to find rolly pollies and worms underneath it. He knew fallen blossoms in springtime felt amazing under bare feet and that if you looked at the sun you'd sneeze. He knew how to play and he'd shared that with her during their years together. Watching him share it with their children filled her heart in a brand new way.

On a breezy May afternoon Clint was kicking a soccer ball in the grass with Wind. Natasha was sitting on a blanket with her back against a tree. She held Isaac who'd recently fallen asleep. Both dogs were snoozing beside her. The trees were full of leaves and the birds sung near and far. Chickens clucked and bobbed further off on the perimeter of the forest. With eyes closed she took a deep satisfied breath. When she opened them again she saw a little round red beetle with black spots had landed on the baby. It crawled across his forehead and stopped. It was a lady bug.

"Clint." She said in a normal tone so as not to wake Isaac, but he couldn't hear her. So she waved her free arm to get his attention. He came over when he noticed her beckoning. As soon as he saw the lady bug he turned to call for Wind.

"Buddy, come look!"

The three year old came over and Clint sat down cross legged beside Natasha. He put Wind in his lap and pointed to the insect.

"It's a lady bug." He told the boy.

A little smirk appeared on Natasha's lips as she watched Wind's brow furrow with concentration. Clint gently put his index finger beside the lady bug on Isaac's forehead. Almost immediately it climbed on. Wind's eyes widened. Natasha's smirk became a full smile. Clint carefully transferred the bug into Wind's hand. It immediately began to crawl over the back of his hand and up his arm. He giggled nervously, looking excited and terrified at the same time. Before it could crawl under Wind's sleeve Clint let it climb back into his own hand. He held it up for his wife and son to see. It crawled a little more then stopped. It's shiney little shell opened and the wings beneath fluttered to life. The little bug floated into the air and disappeared across the yard. Wind jumped up and chased after it, laughing. The dogs, now awake, rose to follow him. Clint and Nat chuckled as they watched him run across the grass with both large dogs loping alongside him. When all three reached the far side of the big open yard, chickens scattered in every direction. Wind soon began playing on his own. The dogs wandered around him wherever their noses led. Clint fell back into the grass and propped himself up on an elbow. He leaned over to kiss the baby's soft head. Then he looked up at Natasha. She was smiling at him. He grinned, kissed her arm and leaned in close to her.


	3. Dandelions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: June. Wind is 3. Isaac is 6 months old.

June dandelions dotted the grass in every direction from the house to the tree line. Everywhere there were fluffy white balls and bright yellow flowers. That sunny summer afternoon Isaac napped in his bouncy seat up on the shaded porch. Wind dug in the dirt by the side of the steps. He had a big yellow dump truck he'd gotten for his birthday that he repeatedly filled up with dirt and then dumped out again. With both boys thoroughly occupied Clint and Nat sparred in the polka dotted grass. The day was hot as they egaged in a bare footed, bare handed brawl. When they were finished Nat sat down on the porch steps while Clint went into the get them water. She watched Wind diligently digging, scooping and dumping dirt. When Clint came back out they sat together quietly rehydrating. When his glass was empty he set it down and reached out to pluck the nearest fluffly white dandelion. Most of the seeds took flight as he twirled it rapidly in his fingers. He blew the remaining ones into the air, then tossed the empty stem aside and picked up a flower.

"Wind, look at this." He said over his shoulder.

His son looked up from his dirt pile then got up and came to see. Clint took his dusty hand and rubbed the little yellow flower into his arm. Natasha looked on with curiosity, never having seen this before.

"Oh no! You're turning yellow!" He said, feigning surprise.

Wind looked from his arm to his dad's face, eyes wide, not quite smiling yet. Clint rubbed then the dandelion on his own arm.

"I'm turning yellow too!" He exclaimed. Wind lit up, sure now that this was all good fun.

Natasha smiled as Clint took dandelion after dandelion at Wind's instistence and colored most of his arm yellow. When that grew old, Clint took a white one from the grass and blew the seeds off of it. Wind laughed and crouched to pick one for himself. He blew with all his might and it was more like raspberries than anything else. Only a few of the seeds came off. Clint pulled his hand towards himself and gently blew the rest of them for him. Wind immediately tried to catch the flying seeds as they scattered into the air. He then picked another and ran to his mom where he thrust it in front of her face indicating that it was obviously her turn. Natasha smiled and took it from his little hand.

"You gotta make a wish." Clint said.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "It's just what you do with dandelions."

She closed her eyes, twirled the little weed in her fingers and blew on it gently. When her eyes opened she saw her three year old child hopping up and down grabbing at the floating seeds.

Natasha had never wished for anything before and she didn't need to now.


	4. Honeysuckle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: May. Wind is 4. Isaac is 1.

At the end of a gravel road, in a clearing in the woods, Natasha shared a life and a home with Clint. Before the house was even built and they'd only just been married, he introduced her to his little haven in the forest. They spent an afternoon laying in the grass together looking up at the clouds, walking under the trees and talking quietly, carefully about their future. When night fell they built a fire and sat beside it listening to the bats and bugs. Eventually they laid down in the grass, held each other close and fell asleep to the sound of the crackling flames. The next morning before they went back to New York City, Clint saw a honeysuckle bush near where the car was parked. He took a little flower from it's stem and carefully pulled it apart until a tiny dew like drop appeared. Holding it out to her he said "Taste it." Natasha gave him a skeptical look. He enjoyed it instead, then took another and offered it to her. This time she did try it and it was delicious. So she had a few more before they left.

A few years later Natasha knelt in her garden and watched Clint do the very same thing for Wind and Isaac. Noting the familiar ritual, she took a break from pulling weeds to watch. Clint and the boys crowded around a large honeysuckle bush by the edge of the woods where the driveway entered the clearing. It cascaded with little yellow-white flowers.

The two little boys paid close attention as their dad pulled out the base of the flower until the little droplet appeared. Only the promise of a sweet treat could have gained that level rapt attention. Natasha couldn't help help but smile at Wind's dramatic protest when Clint let his brother have the first taste. When his turn did come she could hear his exuberant approval at the sweet tasting nectar. A second later Isaac was pulling flowers off the bush and putting them in his mouth. Natasha started laughing as she watched her husband try to remove them. The toddler started crying and attempting to grab more flowers, the four year old kept asking for another one and Clint called for Nat because he only had two arms. She wiped her dirt covered hands on her pants and went to collect Isaac. He cried angrily in her arms as he watched his dad pick another flower for his big brother. Then it was his turn again and he immediately calmed down. His parents exchanged amused looks.

"Ok." Clint finally said. "That's enough eating flowers."

He lifted Wind onto his shoulders and bounded off toward the house. Wind screamed gleefully as he clung to his dad's forehead. Natasha put Isaac down and he took off after them. He shrieked with excitement as she ran along pretending to chase him. When they approached the porch, the dogs were wagging their tails and Wind was leaping off the porch steps into Clint's arms. Isaac crashed, full toddler speed, into his dad's legs. In a flash Clint had both boys in his arms.

The smile on Nat's face did not fade as she turned and went back to her garden.


	5. Icicle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: December. Wind is 4. Isaac is almost 2.

Wind and Isaac stood in the open doorway and watched their dad walk barefoot onto the frozen porch. They were both in their pajamas, Isaac's legs and arms covered in lions and Wind's in planets. Isaac's socks were mismatched and his brother was missing one entirely. The day before had warmed enough to melt some of the most recent snowfall, then the night got down below freezing. Huge icicles had formed along the roof and tiny ones on the underside of the porch railing. Clint carefully pulled the biggest, thickest one from the gutter and brought it inside to show the boys.

With the front door shut behind him, he sat down cross legged right there in the hall. His sons gathered around.

"It's an icicle." He said. Then he licked it and held it out for his boys to do the same.

"It's good." He assured them and they copied him without hesitation.

"So cold!" Clint said as the boys began giggling. Then he placed the icicle in Wind's hands. His expression changed quickly to distress and his dad chuckled "Sorry bud." He took it back and immediately Isaac put his hands out, silently demanding a turn.

"Alright, if you say so." Clint handed it over to him and his younger son's face instantly indicated that it was too cold. He let go suddenly and it broke on the wood floor into three big cylindrical pieces.

"Woah!" Clint said with a smile. "Should we put them back outside before they turn into puddles?"

Wind nodded. Isaac looked at his brother and nodded too. Clint stood up and opened the front door. He picked up the biggest piece and hurled it over the porch rail and into the crispy snow. Then he looked back at his sons. "Quick quick! Throw them outside!"

Instantly forgetting their distaste for cold hands, both of them grabbed a piece and threw it out onto the porch.

"Back inside! It's so cold!" Clint jumped up and down and herded the boys back into the front hall. He shut the door behind them and sprinted into the living room. They ran after him, with big smiles.

"Mommy! We're so cold!" Clint shouted.

Natasha was sitting on the hearth where she'd just observed the whole scene. It had halted her progress in building a fire. Icicles were nothing new to her, but they were to her children and she could never take her eyes away when Clint was showing them something new. It always felt like a sacred moment that she was somehow so priveleged to witness.

Clint sat down on the bricks beside her and pulled her close. Three seconds later the boys crashed into them. Natasha laughed and pulled them both onto her lap.

"Brr! Were you holding ice?" She asked them.

Wind nodded enthusiastically and Isaac shouted "Ice!" but it sounded more like "Ife".

"I'll make a fire and get you so warm." She said and gave each of them a kiss. They slid off her lap and promptly wrestled each other to the ground laughing the whole time.

Clint, arms still wrapped around her, put his chin on her shoulder and asked, "Do I get a kiss too?"

And he got one.


	6. Rope Swing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Spring time. Wind is 5. Isaac is 2

On the porch hung a smallish set of wooden wind chimes that Clint had carved the week before. The hollow cylinders knocked softly against one another in the afternoon breeze. Their delicate sound followed Natasha across the grass as she headed toward the forest. One of the hens was scratching in the dirt at the edge of the trees. Stopping for just a moment, she bent down to run her hand across it's soft feathers. Then she took the usual path into the woods to where it veered off onto a narrower, newer track. It led her to a little clearing where the saplings and young trees that skirted it's perimeter took advantage of the sunlight. There was old oak with a bough that reached out over the open space. Natasha found the boys, along with two dogs, digging in the dirt beneath it. Above, on the branch, Clint was securing a thick rope. She watched him reach down and give it a tug to test it. Satisfied, he leapt off, caught the rope and climbed down it hand over hand. Landing with a little hop onto the ground in front of her, he smiled.

"Hi."

"Hi." She said and looked up at the rope. "This is new."

"You'll see." he smirked and bent to pick up a small board lying near his feet. Birds chirped, breeze rattled leaves, limbs creaked, and a woodpecker sounded in the distance. She watched him turn the piece of wood in his calloused hands. He pulled the rope through a hole he'd drilled in the middle and knotted it twice. Then he took the rope in both hands and jumped to sit on the board. He spun aimlessly about four feet above the ground, grinning at her and looking way too pleased with himself. She laughed.

"Gimme a push." He said. Natasha obliged and watched him glide through the air.

"Boys, I made a swing." he called to his sons.

They looked up and laughed to see him swinging back and forth.

He jumped off and and held out the rope for her.

"Try it."

"Ok." She said, her eyes matching the little sparkle in his.

She took it and pulled herself up effortlessly. Once seated on the little plank of wood, she spun slowly. Clint chuckled softly and gave her a push. She swung up and back down again, and then up and back down again.

"Pump!" Clint said as she began to slow.

"How?"

"Lean back on each swing."

So she did and found herself rising higher each time. It felt so nice. She'd done daring feats of climbing, free fallen from buildings, used any number of grappling hooks and safety lines, but never had she swung from a rope just for the fun of it. Without strategy, without objective, Natasha stretched her legs out as she rose toward the blue sky. Pulling on the rope and leaning back as far as she could, she closed her eyes for a brief moment and felt the air brush across her face.

When she was high enough that her feet could touch the trunk of the old oak, she kicked off of it. With increased speed she rushed down and back up toward the sky again. From the ground Clint gave a cheer and she heard herself laugh.

The boys took notice and Clint intercepted Isaac as he tried to run in the path of the swing. He picked him up and they watched her together. "Mommy's swinging!"

Wind was soon standing beside them, bouncing on his toes, a big smile on his face.

She eventually pulled herself off the swing and skidded to a halt.

"That was very fun." She said.

Clint grinned and gave a nod of agreement. Wind was already beneath the swing reaching and asking for a turn. So Natasha got back on and Clint lifted him onto her lap. He gave a big push to get them started and off they went. Natasha couldn't help laughing at her son's gleeful exclaimations as they sailed through the air. After they came back down, Clint took a turn with Isaac. The two year old enjoyed the experience silently, but with a huge smile on his face.

The family spent a long time that afternoon playing with the new rope swing. Wind went by himself as many times as they let him and Isaac took multiple turns with both his mom and his dad. Clint went a few times on his own and Natasha did too. The kids loved it and there were tears from both boys when it was time to go back to the house.

The next morning, after Natasha let the hens out at dawn, she visited the rope swing for a little while. As she glided across the little clearing, spiderwebs glistened all around her, early birds chirped and the sun slowly burned off the morning chill. The rope creaked on the branch and she closed her eyes each time she rose toward the sky.


End file.
